"Larry has had an impressive career in mining operations and project delivery. During his time with both Barrick and Kinross, he made a name for himself - including working directly with members of Argonaut's board of directors - as someone who was mandated to either turn around existing mines or deliver on projects that had experienced challenges during construction and/or ramp up," Argonaut chairman Jim Kofman said.
Kofman said Argonaut wanted Radford to steer the company through delivering the Ontario Magino project on schedule and within the capital estimate of C$800 million (US$624 million), ramp the project up, and explore a potential expansion.
The capital estimate was a 57% blowout compared with the estimate of C$480 million-$510 million when construction began. Argonaut anticipated spending US$340 million on the project last year.
Canaccord Genuity Capital Markets analyst Michael Fairbairn said the appointment likely takes the potential of a merger or acquisition off the table.
"We view Mr Radford's hiring, particularly with his reputation as an operations-focused miner, as a clear indication from the board that they are looking to ‘right the ship' from within, rather than sell it," Fairbairn said.
He noted that there are still major hurdles for the company, including closing the financing gap and delivering Magino.
Last week, Argonaut said it was hoping to secure financing for Magino by the second quarter of this year. It cautioned at the time that if financing is "not available promptly and upon acceptable terms", the construction plans may need to be changed.
Fairbairn said CG saw Radford's hiring as a net positive for Argonaut that will bring "much needed leadership, decision-making, and strategic direction", which has been lacking the past few months.
"We expect the company will end Q1/22 with cash and equivalents of C$82 million after its recent $52 million bought deal financing, which we estimate will leave around a $175 million gap to finish the Magino build," he said.
He added that the company would be keen to secure the financing as it will be "burning" roughly C$213 million on Magino from the second quarter to year end.
Argonaut traded at $2.33/share on March 8 and had a market capitalisation of $771.18 million.
Radford's appointment will be effective from March 21.
